To invest in TSE first we should define some basic definition for you

Who is a foreign investor?

Non-Iranians and Iranians living overseas. In a word, if the source of money is from abroad, it is considered “foreign investment” and may benefit from fund transfer and opening necessary bank accounts for their investment; also to protect and guarantee their capital based on these regulations.

Strategic investor

Strategic foreign investor means a foreign investor who intends to possess over ten percent (10%) of a company’s shares listed on the exchange or on the OTC market or that, upon possession of the shares of a company listed on the Exchange or on the OTC market, fills a seat on that company’s board of directors.

Non-strategic investor

Collective investments by foreign investors shall not exceed 20 percent of total issued shares of any listed company; and foreign investors shall not, collectively, hold more than 20 percent of total shares of the aggregate total issued share capital of any bourse or exchange.

Shares held by a single foreign investor shall not exceed 10 percent of total issued shares of any listed company.

Markets

Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE): The first Securities Exchange in Iran and one of the oldest in the region, where shares, SUKUK, rights, and other tradable securities are transacted. (http://new.tse.ir/en/)

Iran Farabourse (IFB): The second Securities Exchange in Iran where shares of SMEs mostly, and other tradable securities are transacted. (http://en.ifb.ir)

Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX): The youngest commodities exchange in Iran where electricity and oil and its by-products are transacted. (http://www.irenex.com)

Protection and Services

Central Securities Depository of Iran (CSDI): CSDI is the sole CSD in Iran performing clearing and settlement of the transactions, and also maintaining and transferring the securities.

FIPPA: Iran’s Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act (FIPPA) which welcomes foreign investments and encourages all the foreign investors to know their rights and to get more data on the facilities and protections they may enjoy as well as the legal obligations and requirements caused by investing in Iran.

IPS: CSDI offers certain electronic services to the capital market practitioners including Investor Portfolio System (IPs) enabling the stockholders to take advantage of such services by obtaining a password. For more information, please refer to (https://enp.csdiran.com)

Enter and repatriate money

The foreign or Iranian nationalities/entities shall, by obtaining the trading license, be authorized to open accounts in IR Rials, in foreign exchanges, transfer foreign currencies to Iran, and convert them into Rials and vice versa in the Iranian banks for their banking and investing operations. Transfer of the original capital, capital gains and cash dividends received by the persons/entities holding the trading licenses overseas (outside Iran) shall be authorized in compliance with the national foreign exchange rules and other relevant standards and regulations. The Central Bank of I.R.I (CBI) shall deliver the foreign exchange equivalent of the transferable funds to the foreign investor or the Iranian investor holding licenses at the official exchange rate in the national banking system in case of a single currency peg or otherwise, at the floating exchange rate. Under particular circumstances and at the discretion exercised by the Central Bank of I.R.I., such funds shall be payable in equal installments at a four-month interval during the course of one year. The necessary guidelines for implementation of this article shall, within three months as of the approval date of the present regulations, be approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Central Bank of Iran.

How to start and what Sahm Ashena will do for you

The first step to trade in Iran stock market is to open a valid trading account:
Sahm Ashena have brought you all the primary documents here. Feel free to download and fill the forms. Just email us the complete forms and we do the rest for you to open a valid ID. In case of missed application information you will be informed. (It is completely free of charge)

How can I get my dividend?

The last owner of securities even if they purchased them one day before the due day are eligible to get the dividend. You can get aware of this issue by calling the issuer or CSDI. (You can ask Sahm Ashena to inform you if you are eligible or not)

You can get your dividend in three ways:

Declaring your SHEBA number by referring to Sahm Ashena

Referring to CSDI

Contracting issuers with CSDI

If you have declared your SHEBA number to Sahm Ashena make a call and we will send your information to CSDI and your dividend will be in your account afterwards.

GOOD TO KNOW

Capital increase: Sahm Ashena will bring you all the information you need in other to take your capital increase shares.

Investment Funds: Foreign investors may share their investments with Iranians, and managing investment will be observed by a well-qualified expert. Those experts are well informed of the Iranian capital market and have the ability and expertise in investing in this market. In a word, it is a less risky investment.

Market Time: Pre-opening at 8:30 – 9:00 am, Trading from 9:00 to 12:30 pm. (TSE&IFB). These hours are effective from Saturdays to Wednesdays, except public holidays.

Companies Reports: Note that annual, semi-annual and quarterly reports and any information that could affect stock prices have to be submitted to the SEO on a regular basis by every listed company. These reports and other financial statements are stored in the SEO database and are available to the public. Besides, SEO has implemented a network: CODAL (www.codal.ir), through which the information affecting the prices will be published directly. All the information is available on this website and free of charge.

Settlement: for trades executed on the TSE market takes place on the third business day after the transaction – often referred to as T+3. Central Securities Depository of Iran (CSDI) acts as the central counterparty to settlement, so that funds are transferred between brokers and CSDI, and securities are transferred between client accounts. Transactions are settled by book-entry transfer between accounts.

Securities Types: There are four types of securities traded on the TSE: common shares, rights, derivatives (single stock futures) and Islamic bonds.

Tax: capital gains and dividends are tax free for both Iranian and foreign investors.

Daily Price Fluctuation: The daily price fluctuation limit of shares in the TSE is set at +/- 5% of the closing price of the preceding business day. The aforementioned daily price fluctuation limit is set at +/-6% in IFB.

How can I get the verification of my letter of attorney for selling the stocks of my client who is a foreigner?

The attorney needs to refer to CSDI having the following required documents:

The original and a copy of the letter of attorney

The original and a copy of the attorney’s birth certificate and national ID card

A copy of client’s or clients’ identification documents

A copy of client’s or clients’ birth certificate(s) and national ID card(s)

The original and a copy of the last portfolio

Written validity and continuity confirmation of the latest letter of attorney

If the attorney or the client is institutional the following documents are required as well:

The official gazette which the signatories have been determined in

A copy of birth certificates and national ID cards of the signatories

The letter of introduction for the representative, signed and stamped by the signatories

If the client is an Iranian who lives abroad:

The signature of the client pointed at in the letter of attorney needs to be verified by the embassy or consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the origin country

The aforementioned verification of signature carried out by the embassy or the consulate has to be confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

If the letter of attorney is in a foreign language, its official translation into Persian needs to be verified by the technical office of The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran

If the client is a citizen of a foreign country:

The signature pointed at in the letter of attorney needs to be verified by the official authority of drawing up the documents

Either signature or stamp of the issuing authority or client’s signature certifier needs to be verified by the embassy or consulate of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the origin country

The mentioned signature verification of embassy or consulate needs to be confirmed by the ministry of foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

The official translation of documents including the letter of attorney and the other certificates into Persian and signature and stamp features pointed at in the text and its back need to be verified by the technical office of The Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran

After getting your Trading License you will get your unique trading ID that you need to have in order to be able to either own or trade shares/bonds in TSE and IFB. (You are not required to have this trading code to invest in the mutual funds)

Sahm Ashena can provide you over the internet (Online Trading Service). We will open an account for you in our platform (free of charge) and we will help you to open a bank account which is needed to transfer money from/to your account in Sahm Ashena.

Note that orders that you place over our online platform will be routed to a TSE market directly.

When you open an account in Iranian banking system you will get your bank account unique ID called SHEBA which is needed for you

To open an account in Sahm Ashena we need your original passport or send us a photocopy of your passport certified by an Iranian Embassy located in your residing country

no initial deposits are required for opening an account in Sahm Ashena Brokerage. You can check your daily portfolio through either our platform (the shares or merchants that has been traded in our platform) or your CSDI account (called IPS) which is the sole organization and responsible for maintaining and transferring the securities. Sahm Ashena will get your IPS account. No need to refer to CSDI in person. (Free of charge)

Why Us?

We are privately owned independent brokerage company who has experiences in assisting foreign investors that wish to invest in Iran’s capital market.